While more than 100 volunteers and well-wishers filled Vintage Church's freshly renovated basement during the grand opening of Pittsburgh's Send Relief Ministry Center, Adam Sewell heard one word repeat in his mind. Faithful.
We “exegete the community” to gather facts and opinions about what’s going on, hoping to better inform our prayers, our understanding of God’s leading, and to help come up with an initial approach to birthing these new local works. It’s good, beneficial work, for sure. Yet, it really just touches the surface.
As Southern Baptist PrayerLink leaders gathered in Pittsburgh to pray for the next Great Awakening in America, a rising consensus among the participants was that American churches might not yet be ready for the harvest.
As we engaged in, and taught, relational evangelism, we found that many of our folks were only practicing the relational part. They’d gain friends, but shy away from sharing the gospel. This really hit home when one of our folks was shattered at the unexpected death of a neighbor they’d befriended.
